The performance of 1–3 piezoelectric composites with a porous non-piezoelectric matrix

A micromechanics-based method is developed to evaluate the performance of 1–3 piezoelectric composites with a porous non-piezoelectric matrix. The classical Mori–Tanaka method is first used to analyze the porous polymer matrix, then the Mori–Tanaka method for piezoelectric composites is used to analyze the porous polymer matrix with embedded piezoceramic fibers. A parametric study is conducted to investigate the influence of the volume fraction, shape and orientation of the pores on the mechanical properties of the polymer matrix and the performance of the 1–3 piezoelectric composites. The results of the study show that the performance of the piezoelectric composites is significantly enhanced by the presence of pores in the matrix, particularly by cylindrical pores perpendicular to the piezoceramic fibers.